Ghana’s President, Nana Akufo-Addo has declared one week of mourning for former Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan, who died at the age of 80 on Saturday. Akufo-Addo, in a statement said the Government and people of Ghana were saddened by the news of the death, in Berne, Switzerland, of Annan. “I extend, on behalf of the entire Ghanaian nation, our sincere, heartfelt condolences to his beloved widow, Nane Maria, and to his devoted children, Ama, Kojo and Nina, on this great loss I am, however, comforted by the information, after speaking to Nane Maria, that he died peacefully in his sleep.

“Consummate international diplomat and highly respected former Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan was the first from sub-Saharan Africa to occupy this exalted position. “He brought considerable renown to our country by this position and through his conduct and comportment in the global arena. He was an ardent believer in the capacity of the Ghanaian to chart his or her own course onto the path of progress and prosperity,” he said. According to the president, undoubtedly, Anan excelled in the various undertakings of his life, leaving in his trail most pleasant memories, as “his was a life well-lived.”

He said he had directed that, in his honour, Ghana’s national flag would fly at half-mast across the country and in all of Ghana’s diplomatic missions across the world, from Monday, 20th August, 2018, for one week.